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No weight gain

I have been breastfeeding since birth and thought everything was going fine until his 2 week apt last week when they informed me he still hasn't gained any weight. My son was born at 8 lbs, 13 oz and left the hospital at about 8 lbs, 3 oz. He currently weighs 8 lbs even and has since his one week follow up at Great Beginnings. He eats good-they say he is latching on great and he eats about every two hours except at night-it's about 3 hours or so. He is pooping-almost after every feeding even. It's mustardy, seedy, and pretty loose. He has plenty of pee diapers every day. My husband is active-duty so we must see the base pediatric clinic-but the person we saw was a P.A. and she wanted me to supplement with formula-she actually wanted me to go straight formula but I put up a fight. So she is saying I need to pump and give him between 16 and 24 oz a day, so if I am not pumping that much, then to supplement with formula the rest. I am doing that for the first time today and so far, we haven't given any formula. I am really having a hard time with this b/c I don't want him to get use to a bottle and formula and then not go back to the breast. Of course, I feel like failure as a mom, since I can't produce enough milk for him to gain adequately. They have me taking fenugreek and they have done all kinds of blood work to make sure nothing else is wrong and that all came back normal. Do you have any advice that might help? Is it possible he is just a slow gainer? He has really explosive diapers pretty quickly after he eats and someone mentioned maybe he's lactose intolerant and he can't tolerate my milk, so he is getting rid of it all so quickly he's not getting the nutrients he needs...is that possible?

Re: No weight gain

I so know how you feel, the only difference being I exclusively pump and give her a bottle.

My daughter was born at 7lbs 14oz, went down to 7 lbs 3 oz, and at her 4 week check up, was 7 lbs 10 oz. My pedi wanted me to start supplementing with formula and I was SO against it! She was still in the avg range, just at the low end.

He wanted me to give her 3 oz and at the time I was barely pumping that much at a session. But, since I'd been giving her 2 oz before that, I had a small stash, so I just gritted my teeth and told myself I'd go with breast milk till I ran out.

Within a few days I started regularly pumping 4 - 6 oz. I haven't given her a single bottle of formula, and within two weeks (at about 6 weeks old) she'd gone up from 7lbs 10oz to 9lbs! She was back up in the same percentile she was at birth, and the pedi was happy -- and somewhat surprised when I told him I hadn't given her a drop of formula!

I know you're in a tough spot... I would probably try to wait it out a little longer, maybe a week or two, and just do my best to keep offering him the breast (or pumping and bottle if that is what you do). What you might want to try doing if you pump, is offer him a 5 oz, and let him eat however much of it he wants. Don't force him to take it all though. Do that a couple of times and take note of how much he eats, and then adjust as necessary. Head in after two weeks and check his weight. At least he's not losing! If he was losing I would be VERY concerned.

We offer our daughter 4 oz at a feeding and she usually eats it all though sometimes she only eats half. While I hate to dump the 2 oz, I'd rather that then offer her too little.

Re: No weight gain

It's very normal for explosive poops right after feeding and it sounds like they look normal. How many dirty diapers is he having a day?

Another thing to consider is the difference in scales. If they were each different scales that might account for some of the difference.

Don't hesitate to call a LLL Leader for some in person help. She can help you navigate this challenge. I know it's hard when things aren't going well in the beginning, but you can get through this and have a very successful bfing relationship with your lo in the long term!